Miss America is scrapping its swimsuit competition — and some people aren't on board

Miss America is getting rid of its swimsuit competition and will no longer judge contestants based on their "outward physical appearance," the organization announced Tuesday morning.

Moving forward, Miss America will replace the swimsuit portion with a live interactive session with the judges.

This change will be effective come fall when the Miss America 2019 competition airs live from Atlantic City, New Jersey, on September 9.

Following the announcement, reactions on social media have been mixed.

Miss America is getting rid of its swimsuit competition and will no longer judge contestants based on their "outward physical appearance," the organization announced Tuesday morning.

"We are no longer a pageant, we are a competition," Gretchen Carlson, the chair of the Board of Trustees of the Miss America Organization, said on "Good Morning America." Moving forward, Miss America will replace the swimsuit portion with a live interactive session with the judges, Carlson added.

In a statement provided to INSIDER, a representative for Miss America said contestants will be asked to "highlight [their] achievements and goals in life" and describe "how [they] will use [their] talents, passion, and ambition to perform the job of Miss America" during this new portion of the competition.

This change will be effective come fall when the Miss America 2019 program airs live from Atlantic City, New Jersey, on September 9.

According to Carlson, a Minnesota native who was crowned Miss America in 1989, the organization is also "revamping" its evening gown competition.

"We're no longer judging women when they come out in their chosen attire, their evening wear, whatever they choose to do," Carlson said. Instead, the new evening gown competition will give contestants "the freedom to outwardly express their self-confidence in evening attire of their choosing while discussing how they will advance their social impact initiative," according to a representative for Miss America.

Speaking to INSIDER, Regina Hopper, the President and CEO of Miss America, said that while the evening gown portion will still enable contestants to wear their attire of choice, it will not judge them based on their appearance.

Following Carlson's announcement, some on Twitter have praised Miss America for making a change that they believe is long overdue.

But others are unimpressed. Some Twitter users believe the Miss America competition should focus on being more inclusive and welcoming more diverse candidates. Others have argued that the swimsuit portion is an important part of the competition.

"We are very excited about moving Miss America in the direction of inclusivity," Hopper told INSIDER. Hopper called the change to the Miss America competition a "first step" in this new direction, and said that the organization hopes that young women who may have felt they couldn't be a part of Miss America will no longer feel that way.

According to Carlson, the organization wants to be "open, transparent, [and] inclusive to women who may not have felt comfortable participating in [its] program before."

"We're experiencing a cultural revolution in our country with women finding the courage to stand up and have their voices heard on many issues," Carlson said in the statement. "Miss America is proud to evolve as an organization and join this empowerment movement."

A former "Fox & Friends" anchor, Carlson has become an outspoken advocate against sexual harassment and trailblazing champion of the #MeToo movement. In 2016, Fox News settled a sexual harassment lawsuit Carlson had previously filed against former Fox News chairman and CEO Roger Ailes.

"Thousands of women have been inspired to know that they can stand up and speak up and their voices will be heard," Carlson said about the #MeToo movement on "Good Morning America." She continued: "If I've been a beacon of hope to any woman in that process, it has been worth it."

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